On a recent outing the following lakeside location screamed ‘postcard’ to me. I couldn’t resist the scene at the risk of being ‘cliché’. The low sun lit up the shoreline and peak in a beautiful display of warm, golden light before disappearing behind the opposing ridge, making a wonderful end to the day.

In spring rivers everywhere wake up to meet their annual challenge. And the Uncompaghre River here in Ouray County, Colorado is awake! With plenty of snow still in the high peaks it hurries to deliver spring melt to the places waiting below. Finding a good access point I slowed down my shutter speed to capture the water’s motion … tumbling and dancing over river rocks along the way.

On a recent outing with a friend to what’s known as the ‘Adobes’ (short for Adobe Badlands) I spotted this tree at just the right time! The Cottonwood with its nice shape and backlit spring growth glowed from the setting sun. I quickly went to work as I knew the light was fleeting and made 3 different compositions. I enjoy going to the Adobes … it offers some landscape variety and when the light falls on the curved hills at the golden hour it can be quite striking. Spring comes a little earlier there and soon there will be some wildflowers and cactus blooms to find.

While out shooting I often use my long lens to get in close to the local peaks. It’s fun to pick out just a section of the vast landscape for a more intimate look at these beauties. I tend to simplify scenes this way … not that I don’t like and shoot wider scenes too. Of course when there’s an interesting sky and cloud pattern it’s all the better!

One of my favorite things to do is to take a drive in the country looking for interesting subjects to photograph. It’s a great cure for cabin fever and I enjoy it even more when I capture images worth processing and posting. Somedays that doesn’t happen but I often learn something about a location for the next time. The weather, a different time of day or even time of year can make a big difference. I always hope for beautiful cloud patterns but Mother Nature can please … and she can disappoint! Finding a great location or subject, then being there at the right time are just as important as knowing how to use your equipment. The following images come from several different outings in the last month. All but two were shot along country roads quite close to home.

I woke up early on the 12th to find a fresh coat of beautiful, wet snow clinging to the branches of every tree and surface in sight. I went out to play and didn’t need to go far … it was beautiful everywhere I looked! With heavy fog the mountains took turns peeking out for just moments at a time. I liked the way they were partially obscured, revealing just enough detail to make them out. My first thoughts were to convert all the images in this post to black and white but later changed my mind. I decided the subtle color made some of the scenes more interesting. Let me know what you think … feel free to leave a comment by clicking on the link at the end of this post.

Here are some images shot in an antique car lot not too far from home. The cars are lined up close to one another and their surroundings leave a little to be desired when it comes to picture-making. I decided to forgo my tripod and shoot more freely getting in close with my seldom used 50mm, f/1.4. This is as light as my camera gets and I had fun lining up my shots without over-thinking it. I played with the depth of field being selective about where I was placing focus. Choosing angles and shapes that looked pleasing to me I filled my card in no time and came home with many images for consideration. I think it’s good to shake things up once in awhile by straying from the usual and this was one of those times for me!

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